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Andouille Question

Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 13:02
by K98 AL
I made some Andouille earlier this year - it turned out quite nice - I used some small cubes of pork, mixed with a finer ground mince.
I've bought Andouille from the Best Stop in Scott, La (the best!) - and theirs is much coarser throughout. Like 1/4-3/8" chunks of pork and fat, in a large 45/55mm casing, yet this mix holds together well.

How can I make a coarse mix, yet get that to bind properly? There seems to be some gelatinous material in theirs, makes me wonder if some pigs feet weren't involved.....

Thank you for any suggestions. I killed a couple wild pigs last weekend, and I want to put them to good use.

Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 16:50
by harleykids
They probably used a moisture and binding ingredient, like non fat milk powder (NFMP), soy protein, carrot fiber, sure gel, etc. Many commercially available binders that also absorb and hold moisture, resulting in a plumper, juicier, more glued together product.

I have used NFMP, soy protein, and carrot fiber. My least favorite is soy protein.
I like the NFMP, unless someone eating has a lactose allergy.

Carrot fiber holds more moisture by weight than any of the above, and you cannot taste it, and it is not an allergen like NFMP, soy, etc. Works great and helps with the bind as well.

Binding/not binding can also be a function of mixing properly, adding too much vinegar, etc.

Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 16:54
by K98 AL
thanks- I have been reluctant to try anything extra, but it sounds like I should.

Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2017 06:51
by redzed
As Jason said, you could try one of the many binder products that are out there. I don't have any experience with carrot fibre, nor do I use any phosphates, but I do use NFMP and soy protein occasionally. An addition of 2% will make a big difference in the texture and sliceability of sausage. If you want to avoid biiders you can add 20% lean beef or 20% pork meat high in myosin content. Best pork cut for this would meat from pork hocks. The dark, lean red meat from the pork picnic or ham will work too. Grind the beef or hock meat through the 2mm or 3mm plate, add 18/20g salt and mix and mix thoroughly adding water, until you have a meat batter that looks like it has been emulsified. Add the mixture to the rest of the ground or cut meat and mix well. This method should result in excellent binding and gelling of your sausage.

Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2017 13:20
by K98 AL
That's some thing I had thought about. I'll give it a try in a couple weeks. (muzzle loading season starts Sat)

When making brats, I've been at kind of a loss on grind - I've thought about 1/4" grind, then 1/8' (which is what I normally do), then maybe second 1/8" grind?

Do you think that would get closer to emulsified texture/help with binding?

(I use a hand grinder and keep everything ice cold)

Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2017 14:55
by harleykids
I don't think it's your grind.

I can grind through a quarter inch plate once and still make a great emulsion just using my hands in about four or five minutes.

I have found that the key is to squeeze the meat in your fists and mash while mixing.
If you do that for 5 minutes, squeezing, smashing, mixing you should end up with a really bound mix. I wear work gloves under my food gloves to stop my hands from freezing.

When I want a more rustic mix (less smooth) I simply dont squeeze, I just mix thoroughly.

Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 23:31
by Sleebus
Just have to give a shout out to K98 AL and agree that Best Stop is the best! Hope you took some fresh, hot cracklin's away from there, along with some smoked boudain!

Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2017 13:36
by K98 AL
Sleebus wrote:Just have to give a shout out to K98 AL and agree that Best Stop is the best! Hope you took some fresh, hot cracklin's away from there, along with some smoked boudain!
I'm co-owner of a biathlon held in Oklahoma twice a year. We feed the runners well, and have a couple of top-notch BBQ guys smoke pork shoulders for us all. (usually 150+ people)
A couple of runs ago, I started having them smoke 40 lbs or so of Best Stop's boudin, as well as the pork. It always disappears fast!

Re: Andouille Question

Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 16:59
by Sleebus
K98 AL wrote: How can I make a coarse mix, yet get that to bind properly? There seems to be some gelatinous material in theirs, makes me wonder if some pigs feet weren't involved.....
Sorry should have actually given you some useful information in my last post rather than just getting all misty-eyed about Best Stop!

I've tackled Andouille recently and had a similar experience that you did; a poor bind. What you saw at BS was traditional LA Andouille, large casings and coarse texture. I used a 1/4" plate on mine, and that's where I believe the the problem stems from -- not enough cut edges to expose enough myosin with the coarse grind. Next time I'm going to grind 20% of the meat block through an 1/8" plate, and I'll try to keep that mostly Class I pork. That should give enough extra "stikum" to hold it together.

Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 18:21
by redzed
Sleebus wrote:Next time I'm going to grind 20% of the meat block through an 1/8" plate, and I'll try to keep that mostly Class I pork.
Actually this where you should use very lean class 3 meat with connective tissue, such as meat from pork hocks, from the picnic portion of the shoulder, or really from any lean cut that is a muscle that is active. Use up to 25% of the meat block, grind through the 3mm plate and mix really well with water, salt and cure, then add the coarsely ground meat, and mix really well again.

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 20:58
by TSMODIE
I usually just make a 10% emmulsion paste, and add to it, like when you make krackowska, it will bind anything together, use the regular meat you are using, and add 30% fat, grind it fine thru the grinder, then add it to a food processor with a blade attachment, and process for about a minute, add 2 teaspoons of ice water per pound of emmulsion, and then mix with the other meats before stuffing, this work very well for me,Tim

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 20:58
by TSMODIE
I usually just make a 10% emmulsion paste, and add to it, like when you make krackowska, it will bind anything together, use the regular meat you are using, and add 30% fat, grind it fine thru the grinder, then add it to a food processor with a blade attachment, and process for about a minute, add 2 teaspoons of ice water per pound of emmulsion, and then mix with the other meats before stuffing, this work very well for me,Tim